TOPIC 53: The novel, short story and poetry in the United States: Herman Melville, Edgar Allan Poe and Walt Whitman.

(Introduction) In the United States, the nineteenth century was a time of tremendous growth and change.

After the War of Independence (1775-83) and the Civil War (1861-65), America achieved economic and cultural independence from Europe.

(Introduction) The new nation expanded its territory to the West,

displacing Native Americans from their land.

(Introduction) The population increased in cities, and there were

rapid changes in technology and transportation due to the Industrial revolution.

(Introduction) It was a period of economic growth, also known as

‘The Gilded Age’.

(Introduction) This unit aims to provide a useful introduction to the main literary contributions of

the novel, short story and poetry in the United States at this time.

(Introduction) In general, the literature of the era was both shaped by and reflected

the prevailing ideologies of the day, particularly through the colonial literature of nineteenth-century America.

(Introduction) Prominent figures include

• Herman Melville, known for his novels;

• Edgar Allan Poe, celebrated for his short stories

• and Walt Whitman, renowned for his poetry.

Herman Melville YEARS

1819-1891

(Herman Melville) He was born in New York,

the son of a prosperous importer who went bankrupt and died when he was 11.

When did the father of Herman Melville die?

When he was 11

(Herman Melville) Melville shortly attended school but quit and worked various jobs:

• in a bank

• as an elementary school teacher

• and as a farm labourer.

(Herman Melville) He began a period of wandering at sea in 1839, at the age of 20, he took his first voyage across the Atlantic Ocean

as a cabin boy for a merchant ship which travelled from New York City to Liverpool, and back.

(Herman Melville) After his first voyage across the Atlantic Ocean, he joined

the crew of a whaling ship named Acushnet;

(Herman Melville) however, he deserted his ship (Acushnet) to live with the Typee,

a Polynesian cannibal tribe which inspired his first novel, Typee (1846).

(Herman Melville) Typee (1846) was followed by

• Omoo (1847)

• Mardi (1849)

• Redburn (1849)

• and White Jacket (1850)

  all drawing from his experiences at sea.

(Herman Melville) He moved with his wife to Pittsfield, Mass.,

where they became neighbours and friends of Nathaniel Hawthorne.

(Herman Melville) He published his greatest work, Moby Dick (1851),

dedicated to Hawthorne, but it was not well received.

(Herman Melville) He moved to England and turned to writing shorter fiction novels, such as

Israel Potter (1855).

(Herman Melville) At forty he turned to poetry and published some collections such as

Timoleon (1891).

(Herman Melville) Additional works were published long after his death, e.g.,

Billy Budd (1924).

Herman Melville works

Novels (all drawing from his experiences at sea)

• Typee (1846)

• Omoo (1847)

• Mardi (1849)

• Redburn (1849)

• White Jacket (1850)

His greatest work

• Moby Dick (1851)

Shorter fiction novels

• Israel Potter (1855)

Poetry

• Timoleon (1891)

Additional works published long after his death

• Billy Budd (1924)

Typee YEAR

1846

Omoo YEAR

1847

Mardi & Redburn YEAR

1849

White Jacket YEAR

1850

Moby Dick YEAR

1851

Typee:

A Peep at Polynesian Life (1846).

(Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life, 1846). This was his first book and was an immediate success.

Although it is a fictional narrative, it is said to be largely autobiographical, drawn from Melville’s experiences among the Typee cannibals in the Marquesas Islands.

(Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life, 1846). He added a lot of information

about sailing from his own experience including maps and documentary chapters.

(Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life, 1846). Melville strongly believed that contact with the European and American world

had a negative impact on native cultures. He followed it with a sequel, Omoo (1847).

(Mardi, and a Voyage Thither, 1849). Mardi was his third book, and his first attempt to write a pure fiction work.

While elements of his personal experiences are present in the narrative, Mardi differs from Typee and Omoo by being more complex and highly philosophical.

What is the difference between Mardi & Typee and Omoo?

Mardi was more complex and highly philosophical

Mardi was his

first attempt to write a pure fiction work

(Mardi, and a Voyage Thither, 1849). The novel follows an

American sailor exploring the islands of the South Pacific, each island symbolising different aspects of human folly, government or society.

(Mardi, and a Voyage Thither, 1849). However, the story lacks a unified narrative.

Due to its abstract and experimental nature, Mardi was less successful than Melville’s earlier works.

What does each island symbolise in Mardi?

Different aspects of:

• human folly

• Government

• or society

(Moby Dick; or the Whale, 1851) Moby Dick famously begins with

“Call me Ishamel”, it is regarded as Melville’s masterpiece. However, the book had a disappointing reception at the time of its publication.

(Moby Dick; or the Whale, 1851) It was also based on his experience at sea, and

is inspired by the Bible and contemporary history.

(Moby Dick; or the Whale, 1851) Many characters have names with religious resonance.

The story follows Ishamel, the narrator, who joins a whaling ship named Pequod under the command of the obsessive captain Ahab.

(Moby Dick; or the Whale, 1851) Ahab is a mysterious one-legged man, the traditional romantic character

- half-hero, and half-villain- who is fixated on hunting down the legendary white whale, Moby Dick, who devoured his leg.

(Moby Dick; or the Whale, 1851) The novel explores themes of

• Obsession

• Revenge

• Fate,

• and the limits of human understanding.

(Moby Dick; or the Whale, 1851) Moby Dick is known for

• its complex narrative style

• philosophical depth

• and symbolic richness.

“Ignorance is the parent of fear.”

 (Herman Melville, Moby-Dick)

(Moby Dick; or the Whale, 1851) There is a rich variety of literary devices,

• detailed descriptions of the procedures of whale hunting

• and the extraction of whale oil.

(Moby Dick; or the Whale, 1851) The crew of Ahab’s ship is composed of individuals from different origins,

allowing for the exploration of class and social status.

(Moby Dick; or the Whale, 1851) The characters’ beliefs also lead to

a discussion of metaphysical concepts such as:

• good and evil,

• and the existence of God.

(Edgar Allan Poe) Edgar Allan Poe was

an American Romantic short-story writer, poet, critic, and editor who is famous for his cultivation of mystery and the macabre.

Edgar Allan Poe YEAR

1809-1849

(Edgar Allan Poe) His tale “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” (1841) initiated

the modern detective story.

(Edgar Allan Poe) Many of Poe’s works including The Raven (1845) and The Fall of the House of Usher

became literary classics. Poe’s life, like his literature, are shrouded in mystery.

(Edgar Allan Poe) He was born in Boston, the son of itinerant actors. Orphaned at two, Poe went to live with

his foster parents, John Allan, a prosperous tobacco exporter, and Frances Allan.

(Edgar Allan Poe) Who was John Allan?

Poe’s foster father, a prosperous tobacco exporter

(Edgar Allan Poe) He attended school in England, and studied at the University of Virginia,

where he incurred gambling debts, finally leaving to pursue a literary career.

(Edgar Allan Poe) He married his 13-year-old cousin Virginia Clemm

and they moved to Richmond, Virginia.

(Edgar Allan Poe) He wrote his first and only novel The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym (1838)

and a collection of short stories: Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque (1840).

(Edgar Allan Poe) Back in New York he became subeditor of the New York Evening Mirror, then

bought and became editor of the Broadway journal.

(Edgar Allan Poe) Where did Poe work?

In The New York Evening Mirror and The Broadway Journal

(Edgar Allan Poe) In 1845, Poe published The Raven and Other Poems (1845)

– his chief popular success, along with a collection of short stories titled Tales (1845).

(Edgar Allan Poe) He also wrote the famous essay

The Philosophy of Composition (1846).

(Edgar Allan Poe) After Virginia’s untimely death in 1847,

Poe undertook lecture tours but struggled with mental health issues and alcoholism.

(Edgar Allan Poe) In 1849, Poe was found delirious, in partly unexplained circumstances in

a gutter in Baltimore, where he died shortly after.

While he was also a poet, reviewer and magazine editor, the Tales are

Edgar Allan Poe’s greatest literary achievement.

What was Edgar Allan Poe?

A Poet, reviewer and magazine editor

Poe´s tales can be categorised into three groups:

• Comic tales

• Horror tales

• and ratiocination tales.

Edgar Allan Poe works

• The Fall of the House of Usher

• The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym (1838)

• Tales of the Grotesque and the Arabesque (1840)

• The Murders in the Rue Morgue (1841)

• The Raven and other poems (1845)

• Tales (1845) (collection of short stories)

• The Philosophy of Composition (1846)

Comic tales works

• The Spectacles

• The Man who was Used Up

Horror tales works

• Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque (1840)

• The Masque of the Red Death (1842)

• The Black Cat (1843)

Tales of Ratiocination works

• The Murders in the Rue Morgue (1841)

• The Mystery of Marie Roget (1842)

• The Purloined Letter (1844)

(Comic Tales) These are full of grotesque satire -

with a macabre sense of humour - of American society. Poe uses humour to critique society.

(Comic Tales) For instance, The Spectacles and

The Man who was Used Up.

(Comic Tales) The Spectacles humorously portrays a man

who, after getting glasses to improve his vision, realises his perception of people was distorted

(Comic Tales) The Man who was Used Up satirises

the obsession with physical appearance and the extremes people go to in pursuit of perfection.

(Horror Tales) These are perhaps the most famous of Poe’s works, as

they form the core of his reputation as a master of Gothic fiction.

(Horror Tales) Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque (1840) compiles two volumes of tales already published.

Two thirds of these deal with death; one third deals with the supernatural.

(Horror Tales) The Masque of the Red Death (1842) is often analysed as

an allegory about the inevitability of death.

(Horror Tales) The Masque of the Red Death (1842)

The Red Death is a plague which has killed off half of the population. Prince Prospero

attempts to isolate himself and his guests from the horrible conditions of the outside world. However, despite their efforts, they all end up dying, showing that no one can escape death.

(Horror Tales) The Black Cat (1843) is

a dark, psychological short story.

(Horror Tales) The Black Cat (1843): The narrator, initially fond of pets, descends into violence and paranoia,

particularly towards his pet black cat, Pluto. After killing Pluto in a fit of rage, his cat comes back to haunt him. It presents elements of psychological mystery and escalating terror.

(tales of Ratiocination) Detective fiction is often considered to have begun in 1841 with the publication of

The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe, who is known as the Father of Detective Fiction.

(tales of Ratiocination) In this novel (THe Murders in the Rue Morgue), Poe introduced his brilliant, eccentric detective, C. Auguste Dupin

who also appeared in two other stories, The Mystery of Marie Roget (1842) and The Purloined Letter (1844).

(tales of Ratiocination) Poe laid out the basics of the detective story:

• The wrongly suspected man

• The crime in the locked room

• and the solution by unexpected means.

(tales of Ratiocination) C. Auguste Dupin is the ancestor of

Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes, both adopting a method of investigation based on detailed observation of external facts of the crime, i.e. ratiocination.

(tales of Ratiocination) Detailed observation of external facts of the crime, i.e.,

ratiocination

(tales of Ratiocination) Poe’s detective stories are also known as

‘Tales of Ratiocination’.

(tales of Ratiocination) The Murders in the Rue Morgue (1841), considered as

the first detective fiction story and the debut of C. Auguste Dupin.

(tales of Ratiocination) The Murders in the Rue Morgue (1841): Two women have been brutally murdered and a suspicious hair

that does not seem to be human is discovered at the crime scene.

(tales of Ratiocination) The Murders in the Rue Morgue (1841): Auguste Dupin uses ratiocination

(reasoning and logic) to solve an apparently inexplicable mystery.

(tales of Ratiocination)The Murders in the Rue Morgue (1841): Poe’s influence can be seen in later detectives including

Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot.

Walt Whitman YEARS

1819-1892

Walt Whitman was an

American poet, essayist, and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works.

Who was part of the transition between trascendentalism and realism?

Walt Whitman

Whitman is often called

the father of free verse. Ezra Pound called him “America’s Poet.”

(Walt Whitman) His work was controversial in his time, particularly his poetry collection

Leaves of Grass (1855), which was described as obscene for its overt sensuality.

Whitman's own life came under scrutiny for

his presumed homosexuality.

Born in Huntington on Long Island, Whitman worked as

• A journalist

• A teacher,

• and a government clerk.

(Walt Whitman) At age 11, he left formal schooling to go to work.

As a child and through much of his career he resided in Brooklyn.

(Walt Whitman) Whitman's major work, Leaves of Grass,

was first published in 1855 with his own money.

(Walt Whitman) Leaves of Grass was an attempt at reaching out to the common person

with an American epic.

(Walt Whitman) He continued expanding and revising Leaves of Grass

until his death in 1892.

(Walt Whitman) During the American Civil War (1861-65), he went to Washington, D.C.

and worked in hospitals caring for the wounded.